Hand lettering is a great way to be creative and express yourself.
We'll show you five of our favorite ways to turn plain letters into enviable letter forms.
This chunky type is fun and bold.
The easiest way to do this is to use a chisel-type marker like the Iconic 2 Way Marker Pens.
Write the letter as you normally would, then use the chisel to fill in the thin parts of the letter.
Another way you can do this is to first write the letter in pencil.
Make sure you make the letter much wider than you normally would so that you leave enough space for the inside of the letter.
Then, trace around it with a pen, like the Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner.
For letters with holes, trace the inside of the hole like this A.
Erase the pencil marks and voila! You have a block letter.
There are many variations you can create with block letters.
Make them tall and skinny, round and cute, or square to blocky.
One of the easiest ways to spruce up basic block letters is to create inline letters.
All you need is a thick marker and a gel pen.
First, write the letter with the marker.
Make sure the lines are nice and thick.
Let it dry fully, then use the gel pen to write the letter inside the thicker letter.
This next technique also works great with block letters.
Simply write a block letter, and then write it again behind the existing letter by shifting it down and to the right or left.
Finally, fill it in.
You can achieve a 3D effect by connecting the corners of the letter in the shadow.
We use the Pentel Sign Pen for both techniques.
We love adding colorful outlines around letters for a punchy graphic look.
Use markers of varying colors to create this effect.
We use the Sakura My Name Marker because it uses an alcohol-based ink versus the Pen 68's water-based ink.
Using pens with different formulas ensures that the inks won't bleed into each other and get muddy.
This also looks great on colored or black paper with a white outline.
We use the Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen for the white outline,
and Faber-Castell PITT artist brush pens for the other colors.
You can also add a shadow by creating a heavier outline on one side of the letter for a 3D effect.
We use the Tombow Play Color Dot Marker and the Paper Mate Ink Joy Gel Pen to do this technique.
Thick letters or letters with heavy downstrokes give you an opportunity to put patterns or textures inside of them.
We use watercolors to create a base for these techniques.
We use the Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen to add polka dots inside of these letters.
We also love this pen for adding shine spots to letters, like this.
In this next example, we've added geometric shapes inside the letters using the Posca Paint Markers in extra fine.
Make sure to prime your markers before you start.
Color pencils are an easy and forgiving tool to add gradients with.
In our example, we're using the Faber-Castell Polychromos.
Our last example is to add florals to downstrokes.
This gives letters a romantic look.
The Sharpie Water-Based Paint Markers are great for this because they're opaque and available in charming pastel colors.
You can also use a brush pen like the Kuretake Fudegokochi to add leaves to your piece.
The flexible tip makes it easy to draw beautiful leaves.
We hope we've inspired you to try a couple of new techniques.
Stay tuned for Part 2, and check out JetPens.com for all of the supplies we used in this video.
Thanks for watching!